Tesco chief executive Ken Murphy has warned UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves against regulating supermarket prices, calling such intervention neither necessary nor desirable in a highly competitive market. The warning follows Reeves's proposal last month to cap prices on staples like bread, eggs, and milk in exchange for relaxed red tape, a move that dismayed retail bosses. Murphy noted that Tesco's own measure of grocery inflation is running at 2.2 percent, below wage growth and official figures, and said inflation has not really materialised as an issue so far. Tesco reported like-for-like UK sales growth of 1.8 percent in the 13 weeks to May 24, down from 4.2 percent in the prior quarter and below analyst expectations of around 2.3 percent, which it attributed to Middle East conflict and poor spring weather. Despite the slowdown, Tesco maintained its full-year guidance and expressed confidence in meeting expectations.
Tesco PLCTesco CEO warns against proposed supermarket price caps, which would negatively impact pricing power and margins.